Image credits: Bramble Energy
Bramble Energy, a London-based fuel cell company, announced on Monday that it has raised £35M (approx €41.8M) in funding led by HydrogenOne Capital Growth plc.
Existing institutional investors, including BGF, IP Group, Parkwalk Advisors, and the UCL Technology Fund, also participated in the round.
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Fund utilisation
Bramble Energy says the funding will enable it to accelerate international expansion as well as continue to develop its liquid-cooled fuel cell stack capability.
The capital injection will also help the company to increase its headcount to 100 employees and provide a springboard for the deployment of zero-emission projects with commercial partners.
Since the last funding in the summer of 2020, Bramble Energy increased its workforce from a team of 3 to 35.
Dr. Tom Mason, CEO and co-founder of Bramble Energy, says, “There are no bigger challenges than humanity faces than the climate crisis and our team’s core purpose is to help the world achieve net-zero. Hydrogen fuel cells have long been viewed as a ‘future’ solution however deployment of this clean energy technology has been hindered by complex manufacturing and the high costs associated with this.”
What does Bramble Energy solve?
In 2020, the UK government released its 10 point plan for a green industrial revolution focusing hugely on hydrogen.
The availability of hydrogen as a fuel, with the environmental advantage of a zero-emission system, gives fuel cells the potential to be an outstanding renewable energy solution.
Fuel cells can be scaled to demand and have numerous applications ranging from stationary, primary power sources providing stable and high-power density off-grid electricity to portable applications.
However, there are various limitations in producing hydrogen fuel cell technologies, including cost, inflexibility, manufacturing complexity, and scaling issues.
Bramble Energy: What you need to know
Founded by Dr. Tom Mason in the research labs at Imperial College of London and University College of London, Bramble Energy is solving key challenges in the production of hydrogen fuel cells.
The company has developed a unique Printed Circuit Board (PCB) fuel cell. Bramble Energy says it is a patent-protected fuel cell that can be manufactured in almost all printed circuit board (PCB) factories globally.
Bramble Energy says the PCBFC utilises cost-effective production methods and materials from the well-established PCB industry, reducing cost and complexity in manufacturing hydrogen fuel cells.
Currently, the company has a facility in Gatwick, UK, where it has launched its portable power product range and is developing its high-power density, liquid-cooled fuel cell systems under the same scalable low-cost technology platform
“Bramble Energy’s goals are ambitious, and we are aiming high with our purpose. I believe the potential for our technology is limitless and with that in mind, we aim to decarbonise as many sectors as possible on a global scale. As net-zero goals near, there are only going to be more and more opportunities that present themselves for our technology to develop and work to aid the clean energy transition. The target is for Bramble to become the go-to name in affordable, scalable fuel cell solutions,” says Mason.
Investor
Founded in 2021, HydrogenOne invests in a diversified portfolio of hydrogen and complementary hydrogen focussed assets. INEOS Energy is a strategic investor in HydrogenOne.
Chairman of HydrogenOne Capital, Simon Hogan, says, “We are delighted to invest in Bramble Energy – a pioneer in hydrogen fuel cells – and are looking forward to working with the management team as the business scales. This is the latest transaction in a series of investments HydrogenOne Capital has made within the sector, showing that there is real momentum in our investment strategy and that we are creating a strong platform for further investments.”
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